Gar Death Likely Caused By...

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KuangMingJie

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2009
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Singapore
Livebearers like swordtails.

Is this true or false?

I have a tank of 1 Silver Aro, 3 Bichirs and 1 Gar.

Before getting the gar, I would put in feeder swordtails or ghost shrimps. Nothing would happen to my fish. The feeders I get from my LFS are all kept in good condition and they restock frequently.

After getting the gar... as usual I put in swordtails for my fishes to eat. The next day, my gar is dead.

I checked the water its all good, my other fishes are fine and happy. Just the dead gar.

2 days later, I tried getting a gar again, put it in and 2 days later it died on me. Again the other fishes are ok... Note that my 1st gar only died on me when I put in the swordtails. I had the 1st gar for almost a month and nothing happened, all started after putting in swordtails.

Can any gar experts clarify this issue? Thanks
 
depending on the size of the gar and the aro the aro could have killed it at night...my 19" silver likes to pick on my 12" gar sometimes....i dought it was the feeders since the others are fine
 
how big is the tank, gar and aro? do you have any other tankmates such as plecos? do you have any decor in the tank? and how strong is the flow on the tank? you said you tested the water? what are the exact readings? did the gar have any bends/dentation in its back? most likely cod is silv aro chasing feeders and spooking the gar out.
 
Probably not the feeders because aros are a little more finicky than gar
 
xander is right. prob the aro chasing him
 
Sry for the late reply... Nope no plecos... Just a normal driftwood.

I doubt its was the silver cause my silver is known to be very peaceful... The 1st gar was around 3 inches, while the silver was around 7 inches... 2nd gar was 6 inches, I also suspected it might be my aro attacking the gar so I decided to get a bigger 1. The 2nd gar died on the 2nd day. My aro couldnt have killed the 2nd gar, no torn fins, no signs of fights or whatsoever.

My 1st gar was gasping for air when before dying... tried to save it by quarantining it but it was useless cause it didnt have energy to get up to the water for air...

Up to now, my gar deaths are still unknown. I forget the exact water reading but there was a small amount of nitrates and ammonia... PH was 7. I still dont see whats wrong with my water ='( Still miss my gars....
 
I wouldn't advice giving a Gar unquarantined feeders, but in fact Gar can eat sick fish to a certain degree, because they are pescivores.
Where other fish may get sick a Gar can handle it!
Hope you find out what killed them, though.
 
what ur ammonia?
how did they swim? act? any deformities at all?
its not the feeders. trust me on that one. i feed a TON of live. its not them
 
I feed a lot of feeders, from several different sources, and rarely quarantine. At best I dump some prazipro or quickcure in the tank when I get them home, but most of the time I forget.

I doubt it was the feeders, I would think it was something else. Water quality is hard to argue, if the other fish are fine, since gar don't really need pristine water.

I would think that they were being stressed by other fish, and probably injured themselves after being startled. They may not have torn fins in that case, all it takes is one startling movement by the silver, and the gar bangs into the side of the tank, and breaks its back. After that its almost assuredly going to die, and quickly, since they then can't surface to breathe.
 
Oh my... I guess I figure out how my gars died. It must be due to the silver aggressiveness in chasing feeders. My silver is known to be aggressive towards feeders and do big movements when chasing feeders.

Most probably it startled my gar and both of them broke their backs...

Thanks guys... I might get a gar again but I guess I will keep them in other tanks.

Thank you very much!
 
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